Ethics and research

The Neurological Foundation subjects each research funding application to rigorous peer review by a national committee, plus evaluation by international experts in the field. Our committees discuss whether the proposed methods are appropriate or whether the same results can be achieved with different methods, however we do not have an internal ethics committee. The institutions that host the research oversee ethics approval processes.

All aspects of a project that require ethical approval must have approval from an appropriate ethics committee, before research commences. Research involving people will usually require approval from the Health and Disability Ethics Committee.

Animal research must have approval from an appropriate animal ethics committee. In New Zealand, animal ethics committees operate under a Code of Ethical Conduct approved by the Ministry for Primary Industries, which includes representatives from organisations such as the SPCA and the NZ Veterinary Association. The committees are guided by the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and the principles of reducing, refining, and (wherever possible) replacing the use of animals in research.

New Zealand Universities have signed an Openness Agreement on Animal Research and Teaching in New Zealand. You can read more about this here.